The Pittsburgh Steelers lost a one-score game to the Cleveland Browns on Thursday night to drop their record to 8-3 on the year. In the loss, the Steelers deployed the Justin Fields package more than they have at any point since Russell Wilson took over as the starting quarterback. We saw Fields take three snaps for the Steelers against the Ravens in Week 11, but he was utilized more against the Browns , including a 30-yard run that set up a Jaylen Warren touchdown.

Fields also threw a deep jump ball to George Pickens on a third down late in the game that fell incomplete, which brought a lot of criticism and wondering as to why Wilson wasn’t the one to throw the pass considering his success on deep passes this season. However, Mike Tomlin defended the choice to have Fields throw the pass, noting that Pickens had a cornerback that wasn’t Denzel Ward matched up on him.

“That feels like more than 50/50 ball to me,” Tomlin said.

Mike Tomlin says the Steelers were comfortable with their decision to have Justin Fields out there on 3rd and 6 late in the game and try and 50/50 to George Pickens because they had GP singled up on a CLE CB not named Denzel Ward.

“That feels like more than 50/50 ball to me.”

— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) November 26, 2024

We’ll see if Tomlin and offensive coordinator Arthur Smith continue to use Fields in a larger capacity and what that looks like.

“